Category: Armenia

In this episode of Conversations on Groong, we speak with Dziunik Aghajanian about Armenia’s precarious position between Iran, Russia, and emerging Middle East power shifts. We discuss the Mecca joint defense pact signed by Turkey, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia, Iran’s warnings over TRIPP, Ilham Aliyev’s militarization plans in Nakhijevan, Armenia’s growing energy dependence, Russian deadlines for Yerevan, and how the Established Opposition is testing its parliamentary strategy ahead of the 2026 Armenian Parliamentary Election.

Aliyev revealed that Azerbaijani technical teams have surveyed transmission line routes through Syunik for TRIPP, and he is now signaling that Armenia’s nuclear power plant could become a future demand.

A senior Iranian military advisor warns that Armenia will face the same treatment as US bases in the Middle East if TRIPP becomes a problem for Iran.

Experts argue Nakhichevan’s extreme militarization under Aliyev is primarily aimed at Iran, not Armenia, and reflects preparations for potential future conflict.

Armenia is largely absent from international political prisoner tracking databases despite widespread detention, house arrest, and administrative supervision of opposition figures.

Russia has given Armenia until December 2026 to hold a referendum on EU membership or face suspension from the Eurasian Economic Union and potential sanctions.

An apparent unwritten ethical agreement between Civil Contract and the opposition to maintain parliamentary civility masks a larger question: is Strong Armenia trading political leverage for immunity from prosecution?

In this episode of Groong Week in Review, Hovik and Asbed discuss Armenia’s precarious position amid escalating Iran War risks, Russia’s December ultimatum on the Eurasian Economic Union, and deepening security threats from TRIPP. We examine how a broader US-Iran conflict could devastate Armenia through refugee flows and logistics collapse, why Pashinyan’s EAEU defiance has triggered Russian pressure, and what frozen CSTO membership actually means for Armenian security.

Campbell proposes that Armenia’s landlocked position and fiber connectivity could make it a regional data hub, turning potential vulnerability into strategic advantage through trade and interconnection.

Campbell argues that Armenia’s real advantage from Firebird lies not in direct compute access but in the startup ecosystem, workforce development, and diaspora reconnection it catalyzes.

Campbell explains why Armenia’s data center need not violate export controls to gain strategic value, focusing on building institutional knowledge and sovereignty over the long term.

Campbell advises Armenia to treat Firebird as a human-capital investment, not merely a data center project, focusing on workforce development and talent retention.

In this episode of Conversations on Groong, we speak with Richard Campbell about artificial intelligence infrastructure and Armenia’s Firebird project. We discuss the global AI race, the economics and energy demands of data centers, whether current AI valuations align with physical and economic realities, and what sovereign AI capacity means for Armenia’s strategic positioning.

Hovik profiles Aryeh Lightstone, the Orthodox rabbi and Abraham Accords architect now advising on TRIPP implementation in Armenia.

Hovik and Asbed detail how government officials’ wives are drawing astronomical salaries through rigged job contests while state enterprises decline.

Asbed and Hovik discuss Armenia’s impossible balancing act between EAEU membership and EU integration, and the economic and political consequences of Pashinyan’s refusal to choose.

The judge in the case against Catholicos Garegin II recuses himself citing a dubious conflict of interest, likely recognizing the case’s lack of legal merit.

Hovik condemns Pashinyan’s legal assault on Catholicos Garegin II, calling it an affront to Armenians worldwide and comparing it to past governance failures.

In this week’s Groong episode, the hosts examine Pashinyan’s confrontation with the Armenian Church, Armenia’s strategic positioning between Russia and the EU, and the geopolitical implications of TRIPP. We discuss the trial of Catholicos Garegin II, Iran’s military leadership realignment, the Turkey-Pakistan-Saudi Arabia defense pact, and how these shifts reshape Armenia’s role in the South Caucasus.

Hrant Mikaelian argues that appeasement of aggressors, citing the pre-WWII Chamberlain-Daladier example, historically fails to prevent war and invites further aggression.

Hrant Mikaelian holds Pashinyan responsible for the 2020 war loss, alleging he dismantled the military rearmament plans developed by the previous government and failed negotiations.

Hrant Mikaelian rejects claims of economic diversification via market substitution, arguing Armenia must first reshape what it produces before attempting to export to new markets.

Hrant Mikaelian explains that Russia’s demand for an Armenian referendum on EU/EAEU membership is designed to create a pretext for legally expelling Armenia from the Eurasian Economic Union.

In this episode of Conversations on Groong, we speak with Hrant Mikaelian about Armenia’s Western pivot and the opening of the new parliament. We discuss Ruben Rubinyan’s appointment as speaker, Armenia-Russia-EAEU relations, lessons from the 44-Day War, European aid for Armenia, the role of the Armenian Church in national identity, and Armenia’s economic direction amid geopolitical pressure.

Asbed Bedrossian warns that Pashinyan plans to finance the railway buyout through new European loans, burdening future generations of Armenians with debt repayment.

Hovik Manucharyan argues that Pashinyan has already agreed to hand over Tigranashen and is executing a piecemeal territorial surrender strategy, bypassing Soviet-era border protocols.

Asbed explains how Pashinyan has committed Syunik’s transit corridor simultaneously to Russia via the 2020 ceasefire and to the US-backed TRIPP framework, creating an irresolvable conflict.

Hovik reveals that Pashinyan’s sudden claims of Russian railway mismanagement appeared only after unnamed Western countries pressured him to remove Russian control, signaling geopolitical rather than operational motives.

New parliament speaker Ruben Rubinyan evades direct questions about whether Tigranashen, a strategically critical Armenian territory, falls within the government’s stated 29,743 square kilometers.

Hovik explains why Pashinyan’s proposed Gyumri-Kars railway through Nakhijevan is a fiction: Turkey already has a multi-billion-dollar direct line, and Aliyev has made clear no northern Armenian route exists.

In this week’s Groong Week in Review, Hovik and Asbed discuss Armenia’s new parliament sworn in on August 2, 2026, and the Armenia Alliance’s direct challenge to Civil Contract over Tigranashen. We examine the government’s evasive responses on territorial red lines, Armenia’s challenge to Russia’s railway concession, and how TRIPP reshapes regional power dynamics in the South Caucasus.

In this episode of Conversations on Groong, we speak with Dr. Pietro Shakarian about memory, repression, and state power in Armenia across Soviet and contemporary periods. We discuss the Great Purge in Soviet Armenia, the assassination of Aghasi Khanjyan, the suppression of Armenian national institutions under Stalin and Beria, and the parallels between Stalinist erasure and current efforts to control public memory, symbols, and mourning in post-Artsakh Armenia under the Civil Contract regime.

Arakelian argues that Pashinyan’s Western pivot lacks congressional support because it ignores the Armenian-American diaspora, capping Armenia’s influence in Washington and making the strategy vulnerable to changes in administration.

Christine Arakelian argues that the $400 million allocated to TRIPP is grossly insufficient compared to similar corridor projects, casting doubt on US commitment to Armenia’s western pivot.

In this episode of Conversations on Groong, we speak with Christine Arakelian about American foreign policy fractures, Iran war risks, and Armenia’s pivot to the West. We discuss whether the United States has coherent foreign policy, the collapse of the MAGA coalition over Forever Wars, NATO 3.0 and Europe’s militarization, and how Pashinyan’s post-2026 Armenian Parliamentary Election government is navigating TRIPP amid global instability.

Hovik and Asbed dissect a new regulation allowing foreigners to electronically purchase Armenian apartments with no visit required, while most Armenians cannot afford housing and government property developers are Civil Contract cronies.

Asbed and Hovik describe the dire health of Armenian POWs detained in Baku and detail evidence that Pashinyan deliberately keeps them imprisoned to eliminate political rivals.

Hovik explains the strategic pressure Russia is placing on Armenia through trade restrictions, including a dairy embargo, as Pashinyan is forced to call Putin to negotiate while Armenia seeks alternative energy sources from Iran.

Hovik describes how a farmer was arrested for hooliganism after refusing to be intimidated by a pro-government blogger, exposing the regime’s weaponization of vague charges to silence dissent.

In this week’s edition of the Armenian News podcast, Hovik and Asbed analyze escalating regional tensions as Ukraine expands operations into the Caspian Sea, striking Iranian and Russian assets. We examine how this merger of the Northern and Southern conflicts affects Armenia, Kazakhstan’s energy security, and Pashinyan’s diplomatic positioning amid new pressure from Western capitals following Aliyev’s recent visits to Germany and Berlin.